The present invention relates to label holders for displaying information-containing labels or signs and, more particularly, holders which are cost effective, convenient to manufacture, and adapted for secure attachment to a wide variety of retail shelving in a manner which facilitates convenient viewing of associated labels.
Merchandise shelves commonly found in supermarkets and the like generally provide a substantially C-shaped price channel along the front edge. The merchandise shelves can also be modified to include a C-shaped price channel. Such price channels have upper and lower flange members along their edges and can be used to accommodate snap-in labels or sign holders adapted to receive and display non-adhesive paper or plastic labels or signs containing bar coding or printed pricing or other such information for the consumer. Non-adhesive labels are less expensive to manufacture when compared to adhesive backed labels. Additionally, non-adhesive labels can generally be installed and removed much more readily. Moreover, the appearance of shelving provided with label holders adapted to removably receive non-adhesive labels is dramatically improved.
Depending upon the type of shelving, the price channel configuration may be different. Although the size of most price channels is fairly standard, no two shelves are exactly alike. Thus, the height of the channel formed between the upper and lower flange members may vary because of manufacturing tolerances, even on different shelves of the same shelf system.
Various attachments are currently on the market for adapting a C-channel to removably receive and display non-adhesive information-containing labels to a consumer. In most versions, one or more rearwardly extending flexible legs are provided with portions designed to snap into the upper and lower flanges of the C-channel. While such attachments may provide only upper and lower channels to receive and retain a paper or plastic label, much like the C-channel on the shelf, they commonly include a main body or backing panel and a hingedly attached transparent cover which together define a pocket between them for reception of the non-adhesive label. In some circumstances, a transparent label cover can be snapped directly onto a C-channel over the lower edge, providing a pocket for a non-adhesive label between the cover and the C-channel itself.
While each of the foregoing systems are useful, they each have limited application and one or more disadvantages. For example, while the label holders with rearwardly extending legs can accommodate C-channels of somewhat varying dimensions, they still must fit between and engage both the upper and lower flange elements, limiting their versatility.
The ease of use of the above described attachments is compromised due to the situation wherein a rear surface of the cover is in contact with a front surface of the main body panel. As such, it is difficult to grasp the cover and move it away from the main body panel in order to insert a label therebetween. Additionally, the rearwardly extending legs still must provide a sufficient retaining force when the cover is hinged and pulled away from the main body panel.
Furthermore, the shelving attachments currently on the market do not provide a mechanism for attachment of additional sign or label holders to the front cover wherein the sign holders, and the respective labels, can have different orientations.